Pictures by - and of - Nasa's Mars rover Curiosity on the Red Planet

The reclosable dust cover on Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) was opened for the first time during the 33rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Sept. 8, 2012), enabling MAHLI to take this image. The patch of ground shown is about 34 inches (86 centimetres) across. The size of the largest pebble, near the bottom of the image, is about 3 inches (8 centimetres).Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems/Rex Features